BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi was carried off with a knee injury as Barcelona was held to 0-0 by Benfica at Camp Nou in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The club said an initial assessment was Messi had an outer bruise to his left knee.

Messi, who went on as a reserve in the 58th minute, collided with Benfica goalkeeper Artur in the 85th and was in obvious pain from his left knee.

As Messi charged, Artur saved but also made contact with the forward's left leg. Messi fell to the ground, clutching his knee, and silencing Camp Nou, which is not used to seeing the star injured or even complaining of an impact.

"He's receiving medical tests, let's hope it's nothing serious and that he can soon be with us back to 100 percent," captain Carles Puyol said of Messi.

Messi is only one goal short of tying Gerd Mueller's 40-year-old record for most goals scored in a calendar year.

Benfica looked the sharper side in the first half, while Barcelona dominated in the second. Barcelona had already qualified for the knockout phase in top spot from Group G.

Ola John's pass from midfield allowed Rodrigo Moreno to beat the offside trap and race forward accompanied by two Benfica forwards, all three clear of Barcelona's defense, but the Brazil-born Spanish striker shot wide in the 11th minute.

A minute later Lima had a shot deflected by Barcelona goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto.

Manuel "Nolito" Duran crossed to an unmarked Lima in the penalty area for the Benfica striker to head just wide in the 20th.

Barcelona winger Cristian Tello missed in the 23rd before Lima shot in the 32nd, but Pinto got a hand to it and deflected it to the woodwork.

John beat Barcelona's defense again in the 35th but Pinto dived to turn the ball wide.

"It was a game in which it was clear that we wanted to win even though we started with many young players," Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara said.

As the halftime whistle blew, fans in the stadium chanted Messi's name.

Barcelona looked refreshed in the second half, attacking more and stringing together more passes until Messi came on for Brazilian midfielder Rafinha to an ovation from the fans.

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